Press Releases

Today, high school-aged students across the country will begin taking a voluntary online exam as part of the 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge. The Challenge is designed to enhance the financial capability of high school-aged youth across the United States by strengthening their knowledge of the basics of saving, budgeting, and investing.

To help states address unprecedented budget pressures, the U.S. Department of Education today released promising practices to state leaders about how to spend education dollars productively and highlighting flexibility available for spending federal funds.

First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke to education stakeholders on a conference call today to discuss advancing the Let’s Move! initiative goal of doubling the number of schools participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) HealthierUS School Challenge Program.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement on "The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment, Science 2009," National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at Grades 4 and 8:

Students from high schools and middle schools across the country will travel to Washington this weekend to join administration officials and education policy leaders for the U.S. Department of Education's “Voices in Action: National Youth Summit,”taking place at Howard University on Saturday, Feb. 26.

General Counsel Charlie Rose, along with other senior Department officials, including Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Carl Harris, and Deputy Chief of Staff Eric Waldo, are visiting Puerto Rico this week as part of the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that eight states will receive funding to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the appointment of 28 education advocates, civil rights leaders, scholars, lawyers, and corporate leaders to the Department of Education's Equity and Excellence Commission.

The U.S. Education Department will convene four community college regional summits in the next two months to identify promising practices for increasing completion at community colleges, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced today.